Prof. Calvin Johnson , San Diego State University
All nuclei with an even number of protons and an even number of neutrons have ground state J = 0, while odd-odd nuclei can have ground state J > 0. You may have been taught this is a signature of the nuclear force, but it's not completely true. Through numerical simulations and the use of matrices that are both random and imprinted with non-trivial symmetries, I will argue that nuclear spin has an origin that goes much deeper than details of any force.
